Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 30 November 2012


RFE/RL Caucasus Report
 
RFE/RL CAUCASUS REPORT
30.11.2012
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.

For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

 
Rumblings In The Republics: New Russian Nationalities Policy Sparks OutcryRumblings In The Republics: New Russian Nationalities Policy Sparks Outcry 
A new nationalities policy sets guidelines for policies affecting Russia's nearly 200 ethnic groups. Its drafting has provoked intense concern among them that the status of non-Russian nationalities could be diminished. More 
 
As HIV Grows In Armenia, Migration Seen As Major FactorAs HIV Grows In Armenia, Migration Seen As Major Factor 
HIV/AIDS is relatively rare in Armenia, with just over 1,300 officially registered cases, but the rate of infections is growing. Health care professionals say that in many cases, Armenians contract the virus while living abroad and contribute to its spread back home. Produced by Lilit Harutyunyan, RFE/RL’s Armenian ServiceMore 
 
Georgian President, Prime Minister Exchange Barbs Over High-Profile ArrestsGeorgian President, Prime Minister Exchange Barbs Over High-Profile Arrests 
An ongoing war of words between the new Georgian government headed by former businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili and the former ruling United National Movement (ENM) shows no sign of abating. More 
 
Audit Targets Tbilisi Mayor's Sanitation ServiceAudit Targets Tbilisi Mayor's Sanitation Service 
Georgia's State Internal Financial Control System officers have resumed their audit of the Tbilisi mayor's Sanitation Service. More 
 
Daghestani Brothers Struggle To Bridge Religious, Political DividesDaghestani Brothers Struggle To Bridge Religious, Political Divides 
Russia's North Caucasus republic of Daghestan has been coping with a low-level insurgency, as well as a tense conflict between the Sufi and Salafist branches of Islam, for years. RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service spoke to two brothers -- one of whom practices the officially accepted Sufi Islam while the other has converted to the banned Salafist faith -- about how their religious differences have strained their family bonds. More 
 
Avar Who Killed Russian FreedAvar Who Killed Russian Freed 
A Moscow court has released the defendant in a high-profile case that sparked ethnic tensions. More 
 
EU Urges Georgia 'Good Governance'EU Urges Georgia 'Good Governance' 
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili and Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili in the Georgian capital on November 26, urging them to "find good ways to have what I think we call cohabitation...between the president and the prime minister [of Georgia] and their teams." More 
 
'Chechenization' To 'Daghestanization' -- Curious Changes In Russia's Armed Forces'Chechenization' To 'Daghestanization' -- Curious Changes In Russia's Armed Forces 
Russia’s Interior Ministry has given the green light for the creation of a special experimental Daghestani battalion, which will be the destination for some of the young men drafted into the Russian armed forces from that republic this fall. More 
 
For U.S. Athlete And Georgian Birth Family, A Past And Present RevealedFor U.S. Athlete And Georgian Birth Family, A Past And Present Revealed 
U.S. Paralympic swimmer Elizabeth Stone has come a long way since being given up for adoption shortly after her birth in an impoverished Georgian village. News of her achievements made its way to the family that gave her up more than two decades ago, and ended decades of fear and uncertainty. More 
 
Armenian Presidential Election Slate Still UnclearArmenian Presidential Election Slate Still Unclear 
Armenia is due to hold a presidential election in just three months, but the Central Election Commission has still not yet set the exact date. More 
 
Imported Cattle No Bovine Boon For AzerbaijanImported Cattle No Bovine Boon For Azerbaijan 
Azerbaijan's government has spent millions of dollars on thousands of European pedigree cows in an effort to boost milk production. But the cows aren't cooperating. More 
 
Senior U.S. Official Warns Against Creating Perception Of 'Selective Justice' in GeorgiaSenior U.S. Official Warns Against Creating Perception Of 'Selective Justice' in Georgia 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon has stressed to Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili the need to avoid creating the impression that an ongoing investigation of alleged abuses of authority selectively and unfairly targets Ivanishvili’s political adversaries. More 
 
Kadyrov Picks New Quarrel With Ingushetian CounterpartKadyrov Picks New Quarrel With Ingushetian Counterpart 
For six weeks last summer, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his Ingushetian counterpart, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, engaged in a protracted and acrimonious public polemic, until ordered by the presidential envoy to the North Caucasus to desist. Now Kadyrov has attacked Yevkurov over the burial of insurgents. More 
 
Daghestan Denies Floating Initiative To Rename Russia's 'Ethnic' RepublicsDaghestan Denies Floating Initiative To Rename Russia's 'Ethnic' Republics 
Daghestan's presidential press service has rejected as untrue an article by "Izvestia" claiming that the republic's leadership was preparing recommendations to the federal leadership to rename Russia's national republics. More